Results from Sparaton Promotions

Moloko17

Was just wonder is there any results for sparaton promotions yet, as i was hoping someone would be sitting on there we iphone posting the results as they happen lol

tommyl2010

well i hear chris fields was pulled because the cieling was to low his head was nearly touching the cieling jus standing in the ring so i dont know if it was that fight scrapped or the whole event

tommyl2010

taken from facebook ' all pro fights were cancelled....few c class were cancelled....ended up amateur kickboxing with 4 d class mma fights and one c class...'

mmaireland.com

Ring? Weren't all the fighters preping for a cage? All fighters pulled out? Anyone know why?

tommyl2010

mmaireland.com wrote: »

Ring? Weren't all the fighters preping for a cage? All fighters pulled out? Anyone know why?

sorry maybe it was the cage then but the line i got was the cieling was too low that they had to pull it

mmaireland.com

Sorry dude. That may have come across badly. I wasn't looking to correct; I was wondering whether fighters showed up expecting a cage and found themselves facing a ring? Mad that all pro-fighters pulled (along with some c-class). Curious as to the reason.

Hopefully Marty will be in shortly to give us the low down?

tommyl2010

mmaireland.com wrote: »

Sorry dude. That may have come across badly. I wasn't looking to correct; I was wondering whether fighters showed up expecting a cage and found themselves facing a ring? Mad that all pro-fighters pulled (along with some c-class). Curious as to the reason.

Hopefully Marty will be in shortly to give us the low down?

i no dude i was just saying maybe it was a cage because i honestly have no idea which they were meant to have. ye its a bit mad alright

Anakin.S

I'm just back now, completely crap. Total amature show, maybe they could phone fighie and ask how a show should be put on

Moloko17

so will people be getting refunded, as by the sounds of things they werent giving what they were paying for?

Anakin.S

Moloko17 wrote: »

so will people be getting refunded, as by the sounds of things they werent giving what they were paying for?

I just don't think that they though about the fighters nevermind the crowd, you can't blame the pro fighters being pulled when the standards are that bad. I'm sure this promotion will bounce back they just need to not think about the bank balance.

mmaireland.com

Anakin.S wrote: »

...I just don't think that they though about the fighters...
...when the standards are that bad...
...they just need to not think about the bank balance...

Care to elaborate?

wingnut4

I dont want to say alot but I actually went home. I came to see the pro fights, support our clubs fighter, watch some of the c class. Many people paid £20 to see the pro fights. None of which happened. I feel sorry for all the fighters that cancelled, their training, their journeys. Im not overally sure what happened but just feel bad for the fighters, coaches and fans

weemate

I dont think the bank balance was the issue here.I also think that the promoter should be able to give his side before everyone starts mauling him.

wingnut4

true

Moloko17

this is two the pro fighters that have trained hard, and did not get to fight if you'es are interested in ur fights going ahead there is a show next week ultimate warriors in warrenpoint looking pro fights and purses will be payed so if interested i would get in contact with karl buirns on 07734388839 so that all ur hard training does not go to waste.

GSPfan

There is also 40euro worth of Petrol and 5 hours on the road that can't be refunded. I found it really hard to get angry at what happened because it was so ludicrous that I just had to laugh through gritted teeth. Unbelieveable. I won't be making any more trips.

fogarty245

What exactly hpnd to make it such a nightmare of a show??

Martin Walker

Where do i start.......

Tonight from my point of view was a disaster. Its late now so im just gonna give a basic outline of things and explain more tomorrow. Tonight was my last show. It always was gonna be my last show which is why i worked so hard to get a full pro show on. Kinda go out with a bang sort of thing. Alas id dint work out that way. 5 of my pro fighters pulled out on the night for one reason or another some of which i can understand and some of which i cant. The main problem was that the ceiling was far too low for some of the guys. Origionally i had booked the cage from Strabane but the venue requested that a ring be used. Its the old "cagefighting" problem. So i got a hold of a ring. I wasnt present at the time the ring was put up and didnt realise till i arrived that i was so high. I did move the ring to a place where the ceiling was higher but it was not high enough so the fighters still pulled out. This i can understand. What i dont get is the guys that pulled out because it was a ring and nothing else. But hey things were going down and there was nothing i could do. So losing 5 pro fighters of course meant i had 5 guys who still wanted to fight but there opponents didnt. I could do nothing but pull them all. This destroyed my card completley.
At one point i was just going to cancel the show and have it again next week and fix any problems that people had. This however did not suit some people. I then decided to press on with the show as i had quite a few Kickboxing bouts booked and none of them had any problem. Thank fully David Patterson helped me out with two fighters and Emmet McNally and Barry Oglesby agreed to have there two guys Fight a K1 style fight. This along with the Kickboxing and D and C-Class MMA gave me a card of 14 fights. I take full responsibility for what happened tonight and apologise to everyone who was disappointed. So thats how it went down.

Now i do want to say a few other things because of the slating im getting here. To say im in this game for Money is just disrespectful. I try my hardest to have everything for the fighters and pay for everything for them. I am also as far as i know the only promoter in Ireland that pays C-Class fighters.
Anakin i do not worry about my bank balance at all. For you to come on here and say that without the facts is just wrong. You seem a nasty bit of work that cannot wait to rubbish what the people in the MMA community when they slip. This was my 5th show and over the years i have spent tens of thousands trying to put on the best show i can.
On the subject of refunds. When the Carney vs Thomas fight was pulled last minute i gave everyone in Shanes gym that had bought tickets the option of a refund. Tonight i was outside the venue returning Money to people that gave me tickets. If people wanted there money back they could have it. I really take offence to you saying these things about me.

Tonight did have a silver lining for me though. I was given support when things were at there worst by David Patterson, Emmet Mcnally, Barry Oglesby, Peter Lavery, Jasonn McCabe, Jonny Burrows, John Ferguson and Dave jones. These people are sterling people and in my time in Irish MMA i am glad to have been able to have them as friends.

That is all from me for now. Im going to sleep and i deal with the aftermath tomorro.

Marty

juijitsu black

Woh Marty Man, The whole thing sounds crazy, but Its clear to me and Im sure to everyone else who has a bit off sence, it was not your fault. ... Do not stress or get pis$*d off at some negative things people may say... You have always done a BRILLIANT job at putting on shows and your record stands to you . MMA in this Island has had some great people running great promotions and you are one of them!:D

UC Newry

Sorry to hear about the show Marty, you were trying to put on a top notch show and no one I dont think can question your integrity to the sport with the calibre of show that you had planned. Unfortunately you ran into some big problems and gutted it had to happen you in the last promotion you were going to stage! Saying that as unfortunate as it was I dont think anyone can question your committment to and support of Irish MMA.

McManus

What can i say travelled the whole way up from Strabane expecting to see one of the best cards to date this year!

After getting my shift covered in work and driving for an hour and 30 minutes i land in Ballymena at the hotel and find out that all the pro fights are cancelled because of the fighters saying that the ceiling is too low, surely the venue should have been looked over carefully before being booked.

I cant beleive that after all the hype about this show with a few Irish title fights a suitable venue was not booked with a high roof! Also after they determined that the ring was too high the promoter was offered a 20 foot cage from Strabane at 18.30 last night for a greatly reduced rate as a favour to get the show up and running he turned it down!

The promoter did have the decency to refund the tickets however as we travelled up from Strabane there were also more car loads travelling up and once we heard that the main fights were cancelled we got in contact with the people travelling up and let them know what was happening and not to complete the journey to Ballymena, These people then made their way back to Strabane 4 tickets worth £80 down the drain! Conor Cassidy says to Marty about giving these people the refund and he would post the 4 tickets up to Marty but
Marty declined and says that the 4 would need to come up with the tickets! I find this shocking a promoter would not trust a fellow promoter by handing over the money and Conor would have posted up the tickets as offered!
Also the Pro fighters who didnt pull out have not received any purse yet, all the training dieting and cutting they went through to make this one of the best shows of the year! I know that Dominic McConnell was training intensely for over a month for this fight hoping to be bringing the Irish Title back to Strabane only to have his hopes dashed by an unsuitable venue and his opponent pulling out!

crosdad

thats unfortunate. why do so many guys pull out just before the fights. nerves maybe?

McManus

crosdad wrote: »

thats unfortunate. why do so many guys pull out just before the fights. nerves maybe?

I know that Chris Fields is 6"5 an he was in the ring and his head was very close to the roof so i think that is why the fighters pulled out!

After all the thought and consideration with this show! The venue should have been looked into more!!

Martin Walker

This is the last post im gonna put up here on the subject of last night.
I will contact the people clubs and coaches involved personally at a later date.

The Venue was not the problem. The ring was a foot and a half higher than i was informed and could not be lowered. The lads that did fight last night did well and the few hundred people that did stay enjoyed the show as they always do.

Again on the subject of refunds. Anyone that returned a ticket got there £20 back. I would ask that anyone that dosnt have the facts to hand not to post on things they dont know about. I have arranged with Dom to get his friends that turned around there money back. I arranged this last night.

On the subject of the cage. Well ill just say that the money that was asked for was far too much. I couldnt afford it. For the record i made no money from last night

Today as was always the plan i am stepping down from my role in Spartan Promotions and Antrim MMA/ Red Dragon Gym. Anyone that wants to contact our club to get fighters use the club e-mail address or contact Marty Walker (snr) directly. Pm me here if you need his number. Just to stop the lurkers from saying its because of last night ill let anyone that dosnt know why. On August 5th i am immigrating to Australia. That is why i wanted the big pro show.

So there you have it. I wanna thank all the great people i have meet in the Irish MMA scene over the years. Especially the ones that stuck with me and supported me last night and today when things when to s**t on me.
Ill still check this forum from time to time and sit in the shadows.

Be cool.

Marty (jnr)

MMAIRELAND.ORG

Last night shows how hard it can be to put on an event IMO. Marty has so much experience in this field and with that he was the victim of a series of unfortunate events that tore his show (and many months of hard work) to shreds...If anyone knows how badly things went downhill last night it is him so give the guy a break.

For anyone that thinks the guys like Immortal, Spartan, Rumble in Rush, Clan Wars etc etc make a lot of money off a show your an idiot. Guys like the ones that run these shows do this for the sport and personally you couldnt pay me enough money to put up with the hassle that promoters have to take for their efforts to improve the sport in this country...but they do for very very little profit!

Marty has contributed more to Irish MMA than most of the keyboard warriors on this forum ever will and this can be illustrated by the Veterans that were there to support him last night like Davey Patterson etc etc. I barely know Marty personally but know what he has achieved on the MMA scene through the several successful events that he has produced in the past..so i will not pass judgement on the one that didnt go to plan.

Unlucky how things turned out Marty but these things happen to good people. Good luck with Austrailia and thanks for your contribution to our local MMA scene.

Gary.

MMAIRELAND.org

remmycoburn

i cant belive the cheek of sum ppl on this thread its dame rite childish fuk me i never post a thread on here but 2 c the way some of use guys have got on and and the grilling use r giving a man a good man 2 the sport of mma is just disgusting these things happen if every thing ran so smoothly irish mma would b at the top of its tree and for that pratt 2 come of with a statment its over bank blance well 1 word PRATT!!! u a promotor r ya no so b quiet u dont understand this guys go threw 2 put on a show 2 please others and if iam not misstaking the show marty was trying 2 put on from the start would have went down prob in my eyes as one of the best pro mma shows 2 date. i have fought at a spartan event and the layout the walkers put on is defo second 2 none ive seen fighters walk in2 the changing rooms and there eyes light up at the spread they have lay on so money isnt a object wen it comes 2 pleasing others, trainers should b a wee bit more understandin wen things dont go accordling 2 plan but if they and there fighters r that worried that there men never got 2 fight well ive a massive hay shed bring them bk up and get it on as for spartan promotions they will bounce bk they have a great team there who can only learn from there misstakes as for marty jnr its a sad state that u r leaving irish mma coz for a man so young u have done urself pure justise and the sport will b very sad 2 see a good promotor who does nothing but try his best leaving all the best in oz marty u will defo b missed looking forward 2 the next spartan show hope use have a date already .... remmy coburn

Anakin.S

Martin Walker wrote: »

On the subject of the cage. Well ill just say that the money that was asked for was far too much. I couldnt afford it. For the record i made no money from last night

Firstly I have to compliment you on refunding people and I'll buy a ticket for your next show.

A friend of mine was meant to fight, he travelled a big distance and he told me you were offered the cage for free and would of only had to pay the guys to deliver and build it. Is his information correct?

I think with all the issues you had last night you might think next time before you criticise someone else's promotion, even after you were paid to be an official at it.

remmycoburn

Anakin r you a woman r wat give it a rest will ye fs tell ya wat it is wat weight do u fight at??????

Martin Walker

Anakin.S wrote: »

Firstly I have to compliment you on refunding people and I'll buy a ticket for your next show.

Thanks but as i said above im not putting on anymore shows.

Anakin.S wrote: »

A friend of mine was meant to fight, he travelled a big distance and he told me you were offered the cage for free and would of only had to pay the guys to deliver and build it. Is his information correct?

No. But oddly enough i only discussed this with two people so i find it interesting where you got this information from. Im not gonna say how much i was quoted because as usual its none of your buisness.

Anakin.S wrote: »

I think with all the issues you had last night you might think next time before you criticise someone else's promotion, even after you were paid to be an official at it.

No. Never. If a show has what i think are problems i will voice my opinion. The fact that im working on it means nothing. Last night i had alot of problems. I will be the first to admit that. I am man enough to know ive made mistakes. I dealt with them under immense pressure and in the end i still put on a show with 14 fights.
Now this is deffo the last post on this thread from me. If you have any more questions pm me or we can meet in person.

Marty

Barry.Oglesby

This should be sorted privately with the parties involved first rather than publicly with anonymous individuals.

weemate

on the subject of Chris Fields and Tim mc Crory's fight.Myself and John had both guys stand in the ring after first discussing the level of the ceiling.Both guys where able to touch the ceiling with their heads without too much difficulty and in all four of our opinions we held the view that it would be too dangerous for the fight to take place.The promoters did in fact have the ring moved to try to sort the problem but due to the height of the fighters it was just not possible.
At that stage we took the decision that the fight was'nt going to happen.Now the decision wasnt taken lightly.Both fighters had put long hours in to prepare for the event and both myself and John also put a lot of time into making sure they where in perfect shape in order to compete,If I can give an example,Tim actually dropped over 6k overnight to insure he came in at the weight.Fighters out there will know that to do that is not exactly pleasant.
The promoter was disappointed that the fight was off,the fighters and respective teams where gutted at the fact but there was no other option.
Now I know the offer of a cage was available but the logistics of this ,in my opinion,were ridiculous.The offer was allegedly made at 6:30,the doors where to open at 6 with the first fight at 7.The guys who transport the cage where already on the road from Strabane at this stage.Now I leave it to you all to do the math.The guys,if the cage had been agreed,would have to turn round and head back to strabane to collect said cage,get back on the road and head to Ballymena.Someone better than me can work out how long that would take.
They would have to arrive at the venue,strip down the boxing ring and start to assemble the cage.Im told it takes over an hour to put the cage up again I can be corrected on this.
Now considering we had all been at the venue since 4:00.Tim and Chris,Dom and Hugh where the last two match ups on the card....What time do you think they wouldve been able to fight?
Personally,I wouldnt have been happy to go through this drama.I know from talking to John and Chris that they werent over the moon about it either.
The night in Marty's words was a disaster but it happened and not even God can turn back time.Im sure the relevant coaches and fighters will recieve a personal call and solution from the promoters over the next few days.The promoter has already opologised and refunded the audience that wanted it.
We can slate him to our hearts content but what good is it?The guy did what he could to salvage something and in the end put on a show,not the show he wanted but an event none the less.Tim and Chris will,Im sure meet in the future and hopefully give the public a good fight.I've already forgotten last night and am looking forward to Cage Contenders,Ultimate Warriors,Ultimate Conflict,Rumble in Rush....etc etc

remmycoburn

here here wee mate time 2 move on these things happen, That was turer words never spoken but the fact pratts cant wait 2 get there 50p worth in better still had 2 get second hand info 2 start there bitching sickings me and brings the sport of irish mma 2 a new level lets see who can get the best boot in first. i personly think there should be a board set up 2 stop these childish remarks and 2 b honest if there was a board u cudnt ask 4 a better man than marty walker jnr R snr to sit on it there defo is to many cheifs and not enough indians in this island for mma wen r we gona pull it 2gether stop the bitching work more closely 2gether personlay we cud use this as a exsample and really put irish mma on the map and from reading posts and threads from the past marty jnr is defo 1 of the good guys that has been trying 2 make that work. 4 just not 4 the benifit 4 himself but 4 all of us and again as i said 2 put irish mma wer it belongs rite at top of the tree.... remmy coburn

cowzerp

Look Martin knows mistakes where made, he has held his hands up and accepted that-the 1 thing i can say is people slating him have to realise how much work goes into these events and how stressfull they are and how unrewarding, you could make more per hour working in Mcdonalds than on these shows. So if money is the gripe thats not fair as no 1 is making a killing from these events including Marty..

I think the fact that Marty can be critical of events has made people come down hard on him but lets keep it honest and try not to be personal-it should really be between the coaches, fighters and promoter anyway and not discussed here 1st.

remmycoburn

says it all cowzerp they had the spears threw at him in here last nite b4 the show was even over!!!!!

Mrs Lynch

Firstly heartfelt sympathy to Marty and rest of Spartans who I know worked hard to pull one of the best cards this year in Irish MMA. It was a bad schoolboy error and has cost dearly:o

Coaches and fighters were devastated no-one deliberately I believe set-out to "destroy" this show there was genuine concerns over fighters safety and rightly so. Fighters and coaches looked devastated and aggitated last nite, guys who worked so hard, sacraficed time and effort into their training, making weight and some making huge journeys to the show. It wasnt their fault they cudnt fight their safey was at risk and no sane minded coach especially with fighters standing as tall as 6ft 5in (without his hat) would take the chance, serious injury could have occured. I think from this people became angry and annoyed, it began to snowball!

I stayed to support Marty as I do believe he has done a lot for the sport but to say I enjoyed any fight lastnite I would be lyin. As a fan I came for MMA not thai fights but I know that this was to compensate for card falling apart. However if I was a fan travellin to see a specific fighter from Dublin, Belfast, Antrim, Strabane or even Ballymena I think it was only right they get their money back, times are hard for people at the moment, petrol money alone cost a packet for some of them.

As for compo for fighters, I think this has to be discussed by promotion and coaches but I do believe they deserve something as it was beyond their control they turned up believing fights were goin ahead and all was in order!

I dont want to fuel a fire I know Marty has admitted it was a bad nite and I wish him the best in Oz and Daddy Walker in the continuation of the club and future shows;)!

Urs
x

youllneverknow

best fight had to be the k1 fight.

GSPfan

To be honest with ya's all, I'm sorry for Martin. It's not something I envy, having a complete disaster blamed on you.

That being said. Don't anyone dare tell me that I can't express my absolute disgust at how this event was organized. It's a fookin disgrace that I drove for 5 hours for nothing. Its our natural instinct to protect each other and post sympathetic messages but bottom line..... It was a fookin disgrace. No hard feelings. But don't anyone think for a minute that the promoter is a victim of circumstances. Absolute shambles.

Barry.Oglesby

GSPfan wrote: »

To be honest with ya's all, I'm sorry for Martin. It's not something I envy, having a complete disaster blamed on you.

That being said. Don't anyone dare tell me that I can't express my absolute disgust at how this event was organized. It's a fookin disgrace that I drove for 5 hours for nothing. Its our natural instinct to protect each other and post sympathetic messages but bottom line..... It was a fookin disgrace. No hard feelings. But don't anyone think for a minute that the promoter is a victim of circumstances. Absolute shambles.

I agree with you, you have a right to express your opinion. It's this lark of asking Martin how much this or that cost and how much will you make that's not on.

nichola kehoe

tommyl2010 wrote: »

i no dude i was just saying maybe it was a cage because i honestly have no idea which they were meant to have. ye its a bit mad alright

The reason why all the fighters cancelled was because on the day of the fight the organisers realised that the cage was too high and the fighters wouldnt have been able to stand in it without hitting their heads off the ceiling. So they had to use a boxing ring instead. So basically the night turned into a kicboxing night, with almost no MMA. There were even kids fighting in it. It was a total disaster.

Jason McCabe

I honestly felt sorry for Marty. Given the circumstances I think he did the best he could.

It was one very dear bought lesson.

I know he put a hell of a lot of hours into the show and even if it had gone ahead with a full house I don't think he would have had much dough to put into his pocket for his effort. I also believe he knew this from the outset.

To question his ethics is completey wrong.

Barry.Oglesby

nichola kehoe wrote: »

The reason why all the fighters cancelled was because on the day of the fight the organisers realised that the cage was too high and the fighters wouldnt have been able to stand in it without hitting their heads off the ceiling. So they had to use a boxing ring instead.

That's almost exactly what DIDN'T happen.

remmycoburn

ok seem marty jnr isnt posting on here cant say i blame him the pathedic ness of sum ppl in here and as the walkers r family and i have fought and worked for spartan promotions i find it in my self 2 reply 2 u gspfan yes u have the rite 2 express opinion but the way u express it not just u others as well over money\cages personal stuff that 4 one second dosnt concern u in the slightist is wat is making ppl friends of marty 2 stand tall 2gether and understand wat has happen as one of those things seems 2 be anoying u gspfan this isnt a popular contest is it u and a few other keyboard worriers wer like a bunch of bingo women sitting on the fence dying 2 get there claws in 2 young marty u can do all the crying cursing all u want wat has happend has happened take sumthing 4 that anger will ya wat do u and the rest want of him blood fs and we wonder y the irish mma is in the state it is ashamed that 2days later we arnt moving on get over it every one else seems 2 have!!!!!!!!!! remmy coburn

cowzerp

remmycoburn wrote: »

ok seem marty jnr isnt posting on here cant say i blame him the pathedic ness of sum ppl in here and as the walkers r family and i have fought and worked for spartan promotions i find it in my self 2 reply 2 u gspfan yes u have the rite 2 express opinion but the way u express it not just u others as well over money\cages personal stuff that 4 one second dosnt concern u in the slightist is wat is making ppl friends of marty 2 stand tall 2gether and understand wat has happen as one of those things seems 2 be anoying u gspfan this isnt a popular contest is it u and a few other keyboard worriers wer like a bunch of bingo women sitting on the fence dying 2 get there claws in 2 young marty u can do all the crying cursing all u want wat has happend has happened take sumthing 4 that anger will ya wat do u and the rest want of him blood fs and we wonder y the irish mma is in the state it is ashamed that 2days later we arnt moving on get over it every one else seems 2 have!!!!!!!!!! remmy coburn

Hi, Text speak is frowned upon here at boards, if you are posting again could you please post in proper writing with paragraphs also-there was a report about it and in fairness there right, Also your entitled to defend your stance but make sure your not coming across as picking a fight as thats how it looks Thanks

GSPfan

remmycoburn wrote: »

ok seem marty jnr isnt posting on here cant say i blame him the pathedic ness of sum ppl in here and as the walkers r family and i have fought and worked for spartan promotions i find it in my self 2 reply 2 u gspfan yes u have the rite 2 express opinion but the way u express it not just u others as well over money\cages personal stuff that 4 one second dosnt concern u in the slightist is wat is making ppl friends of marty 2 stand tall 2gether and understand wat has happen as one of those things seems 2 be anoying u gspfan this isnt a popular contest is it u and a few other keyboard worriers wer like a bunch of bingo women sitting on the fence dying 2 get there claws in 2 young marty u can do all the crying cursing all u want wat has happend has happened take sumthing 4 that anger will ya wat do u and the rest want of him blood fs and we wonder y the irish mma is in the state it is ashamed that 2days later we arnt moving on get over it every one else seems 2 have!!!!!!!!!! remmy coburn

I didn't say anything out of turn about Martin. I didn't mention anything about his financial position. I mentioned the waste of my petrol money and time. I don't like criticising about things I don't know about. So I didn't. You obviously know the guy and you don't like the criticism. Fair enough. I don't like the personal criticism either.

cowzerp

Thread closed now as its going nowhere, if needed to be re-opened mail me, but only if its for proper reasons-thanks

Barry.Oglesby

I've asked for this thread to be re-opened. I don't like conducting things like this in public but there hasn't been a satisfactory response privately, and to be frank I think the promoters have got off lightly with the criticisms here. The fighters and coaches have held their counsel thus far but I think they may start to speak out now.

Hopefully I'll get a response from the promoters to several questions I've posed in the next while.

SBG Ireland

ive been involved in mma as a coach/promoter/competitor for over 10yrs and this is the first time something like this has happened me.
it bugged me when i arrived and i realised it was a ring not a cage....as far as i know nobody was told this and they like myself presumed it'd be a cage like their previous events...but i could let that go. as regards the oversight with the ceiling height i have no real problem with that. yes it was a bad screw up, but i could forgive that....what followed was the real problem
first off no fights shouldve taken place that night. the sport is risky enough without having to worry 'well if jump here, or get picked up here i may crack open my head'.
to add insult ive now been told that no purses let alone expenses will be covered as (due to their mess up) they didnt make money.
so if they had of made money they would be calling me to split the profits with the fighters....i dont think so!
to use tom maguire as an example he had to drive up and back from kerry (as did a bunch of other people from his gym), take time off work, not to mention cost of supplements etc in the lead up to it and for this he gets ZERO...not even a mention of a few quid for petrol etc? this is the same for chris fields....and every other fighter on the card. it actually cost both those athletes to train and arrive on weight for this event...it COST THEM!
i didnt want to have to this publicly, i emailed the promoters privately gave them a chance but was basically told to go away. i feel other coaches should be warned that if they bring fighters to their shows they must be prepared to get nothing out of it and in fact may end up costing them money!
Straight Blast Gym Ireland will never be involved with another one of these shows.
john kavanagh

Barry.Oglesby

I was going to post earlier but I couldn't dedicate enough time and attention to a proper statement on this, and I want what I say to be accurate and fair.

Firstly here's what occurred as I saw it on Saturday. As John has stated, there was an assumption that there was to be a cage and this is what myself and my fighter had trained for in the lead up. My fighter Przemek had actually been a late call up as I wanted to help Marty out as he had some difficulties with the fight card. When we arrived at the venue (2.5 hours in the car with a cornerman and our team photographer) we saw a boxing ring. This was our first surprise as there had been no mention of it in the run up given that the previous 4 shows had run in a cage. But like John, we were willing to let that pass. Once I was in I was asked to stand in the ring to check my height. At the highest point I could comfortably raise my hand above my head and without straightening my arm I could tounch the ceiling. At the lowest point if I did a small hop my head would have hit the ceiling. I asked my corner, my team and some of the other experienced guys around what they would do if I was their fighter and unanimously their verdict was "don't fight" which was my own instinct too.

At this stage I got on the phone to everyone who was travelling to see myself and Przemek. They were all on the road either from the Munster Open in Cork or Dublin and they turned back bar 4 who were unable to be contacted and showed at the venue some time later. There was then some talk of getting a cage from another promoter which I understand was probably not logistically possible, regardless of expense. let me state categorically that at this stage and throughout the night the atmosphere from the coaches in attendance was one of cooperation. Everyone wanted to see the show go ahead so there were lots of suggestions as to how to get the fights back on, some good, some not so good, but everyone sympathised to some extent. Marty had obviously made a mistake and I think everybody had the saying "there but for the grace of god go I" on their minds, particularly those who had put on shows before. We organised that our other fighter would do a stand-up only bout just to put some fights on the show. I offerred to do a grappling match with my opponent (we could have come to some no-elevated takedown arrangement) and in general everyone wanted to see the show happen.

At this stage, it was all a bit Monty Python. I asked about having my expenses covered (I wasn't asking for my full winning purse to be paid which I thought was a sympathetic gesture on my part, maybe not!) but told marty to take a day or two and have a think about it. Today I mailed Marty hoping for some answer to the matter of fighters expenses and I was told that Marty no longer works for Red Dragon/Spartan Promotions. So he's gone to ground and he's the guy pretty much everyone had been dealing with. Martin Snr. told me by mail that no purses will be paid since the show has made no money.

So let me tell you why that's wrong. Firstly, while some of you might chuckle at the thought of this, I'm a professional fighter. That means like all of the pro fighters on the card, I offer a service to a promoter, and in return he gives me an agreed fee. In this case, the fighters kept their end of the agreement. They made weight, trained and showed up. The promoter did not, he failed to provide a safe environment to compete in. Now I'm sorry that their show failed to make money, I really am, but let me take you through a basic breakdown of MY costs:
6 weeks training including- food and supplement costs, time travelling for sparring etc.
a weight cut from 82kgs on Thursday to 77kgs on Friday
travel to and from the venue (5hrs total)

Plus:
Clearing time away from other things- most fighters have jobs, a family, fighters don't get to go out and have drinks when they want to, order a pizza if they want to.
My cornermen- one of whom took a night off work to come and corner for me.
My friends/fans who spent time and money on their way to the venue and were forced to turn back in Belfast.
I'm not 21 anymore, more's the pity, and to get to fight I have to clear a chunk of my life away to find time to train hard enough to do myself and the promoter justice. I can't put a cost on any of the above.

Economists say that the true cost of anything is what you give up to get it. In no way does an Irish pro-fighter's purse go anywhere close to paying for what he or she gives up to get it, but we do it because we love the game. The purse is a small tribute to cover some of the expense involved. That Spartan expect the fighters to shoulder the losses the promotion has incurred shows a distinct lack of respect to that process.

Marty has long been an advocate of putting standards in place to protect fighters and to ensure a high standard of MMA show. Surely not exposing fighters to the losses a promotion makes is one such standard.

Yours,

Barry Oglesby
Head Coach,
Informed Performance MMA

mmmm...not sure

I just want to know if anyone is pursuing anything legally because if a contract was signed and one of the parties defaulted on the terms of this contract then there is surely grounds for legal action.

I may be wrong here I just wanted to see if this was a possible avenue for fighters that did not recieve their agreed purses.

I know this is an extreme action to take and may be hurtful to Irish mma but it's a case of fairness.

Forest Master

Based on Barry's reply, it looks like the promoter has stuck his head in the sand, turned off his phone, and asked his Daddy to get him out of the mess he created.

"Daddy, I thought I could be a promoter, but something went wrong because I didn't ask the venue if it was okay to use a cage, and I don't want to face up to it now & deal with it like a man. Plus, doing the right thing and paying the fighters' purses will eat into my Australia spending money! Sob, sob"

"Dont worry booboo, I'll deal with the bad men."

cowzerp

O,k-now whatever was needed to be aired is out there i'm closing this again-if Marty wants to re-open it to reply i will re-open it, or if anything new develops from this, otherwise we're just going to have the same stuff said over and over and plenty of smart comments to go with it..

Nothing will get sorted over the net anyway